Nelson Barney Fox was born on February 22, 1916, in Ravenel, South Carolina near Charleston.
He was a Chief Fire Controlman on the USS Louisville (CA-28). The USS Louisville was escorting two American ships from the Dutch East Indies (today, Indonesia) to Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. [1] According Eve Krot, a relative of Fox, the heavy cruiser was chasing a U-boat at the time of the attack. Afterwards, the USS Louisville first went to Hawaii to survey the damage done by the Japanese and then to San Diego soon after. [2]
Fox additionally worked on several other ships throughout his career in the Navy. One of them was the Indianapolis (VCS-4) [3], a navy cruiser scouting squadron that was assigned to the USS Louisville, the USS Chicago (CA-29), the USS Portland (CA-33), and the USS Indianapolis (CA-35). [4] Navy cruiser scouting squadrons’ tasks included providing air-spotting support for cruisers and battleships. [5]
According to Krot, in July 1945, Fox boarded the USS Indianapolis, where he was trained in trajectory and bomb sighting. Fox eventually returned to the USS Louisville and sailed from San Francisco to Honolulu. However, the captain informed Fox that his part of his job was complete and that he was no longer needed. Fox’s family is told that his work is classified.
In 1951, he worked for Radiation, Inc. near Melbourne, Florida. The company was eventually sold to the Harris Corporation.
Fox’s wife, Nina Fox, has on her tombstone that she was a survivor of Pearl Harbor.
Fox died on July 29, 2002, in Altamonte Springs Hospital in Florida.
Profile submitted by Eve Krot, a relative of Nelson Fox. Photos provided by Eve Krot.
CITATION:
“Declassified–Location of U.S. Naval Aircraft.” Naval History and Heritage Command. February 24, 1942. https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/research/histories/naval-aviation/Location%20of%20US%20Naval%20Aircraft/24-2-42.pdf.
“Nelson Barney Fox Query,” Fold3. https://www.fold3.com/search#query=nelson+barney+fox&offset=5&t=829, accessed September 23, 2018.
“Invasion! Fortress—Naval Aviation Summer 1944.” Naval Aviation News. May-June (1994): 32-5. https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/browse-by-topic/commemorations/commemorations-toolkits/wwii/articles-on-world-war-ii-naval-aviation/pdf/ww2-30.pdf.
“Louisville III (CL-28): 1931-1959.” Naval History and Heritage Command. Published July 29, 2015. https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/l/louisville-ii.html.
[1] “Louisville III (CL-28): 1931-1959,” Naval History and Heritage Command, published July 29, 2015, https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/l/louisville-ii.html.
[2] Ibid.
[3] “Nelson Barney Fox Query,” Fold3. https://www.fold3.com/search#query=nelson+barney+fox&offset=5&t=829, accessed September 23, 2018.
[4] “Declassified–Location of U.S. Naval Aircraft.” Naval History and Heritage Command. February 24, 1942. https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/research/histories/naval-aviation/Location%20of%20US%20Naval%20Aircraft/24-2-42.pdf.
[5] “Invasion! Fortress—Naval Aviation Summer 1944,” Naval Aviation News, May-June (1994): 32, https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/browse-by-topic/commemorations/commemorations-toolkits/wwii/articles-on-world-war-ii-naval-aviation/pdf/ww2-30.pdf.